Why Unemployment Rising To 9.1% Is Good News

The newly released US jobs report shows the unemployment rate rising to 9.1% for May, the highest it’s been all year. On the face of it that looks like a faltering recovery. But hidden in this raw number is good news.

The Atlantic points out how one of the drivers behind that number is 105,000 people who had given up looking for work have started looking for jobs again. Problem is that there aren’t enough for them.

After growth slowed in April, businesses slowed down hiring, adding only 54,000 jobs in May. But it’s good that Americans who had given up on working are giving it another go. A full recovery won’t happen until the average person is confident again in our economy, and this is a strong sign of some of that returning.